Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2012-06-27"
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- Nuances in the embedment of ESDGC in the regional curriculum of the AzoresPublication . Sousa, FranciscoSince sustainable development and Azoreaness are the transversal themes of the Regional Curriculum of the Azores (RCA), every curricular area is supposed to contribute to their promotion. Given the specific characteristics of each area, it is interesting to investigate the extent to which there is some variation across areas in terms of approaches to education for sustainable development (ESD). Furthermore, considering the geographical remoteness of the Azores, it is important, in the age of globalisation, to analyse the relationship between Azoreaness and the cosmopolitan idea of global citizenship in the light of wider discussions on the relationship between the local and the global. Since the official documents that convey the most recent version of the RCA - a decree and a guide - were published very recently (in the summer of 2011), there is no empirical data related to the curriculum's implementation available at this time. Accordingly, this paper is based on the analysis of the above mentioned documents. The text was thoroughly scrutinised in the light of an emergent set of categories that describe: (1) different kinds of approach to ESD across curricular areas and (2) different kinds of relationship between the local and the global. Most of the results of the analysis in terms of different kinds of approach to ESD are not surprising. ln some curricular areas there is an orientation towards the development of competencies directly related to ESD, whereas the contribution of the competencies to be developed in other areas, especially Portuguese Language and Foreign Languages, to sustainable development is more indirect. However, there are some surprising results in terms of lack of clarity in some areas. The analysis disclosed five kinds of relationship between the local and the global: inclusion, specification, perspective, influence and comparison. The most recent version of the RCA is conveyed by recent official documents, which are more complete and complex than older documents that represented previous versions. This fact suggests consolidation, but research on the implementation of the curriculum in classrooms is needed in order to build knowledge on its real impact. That necessity notwithstanding, my analysis of the above-mentioned documents has highlighted the fact that messages calling for ESDGC are strongly embedded in the formal curriculum. Given the geographical isolation of the Azores, the highlighted connections between Azoreaness and global phenomena are especially noteworthy.
- Azorean children's engagement with rural communities in the age of globalization: Folklore, resistance or global citizenship on a small scale?Publication . Palos, Ana Cristina Pires; Sousa, FranciscoFindings from the first stage of the study show that, according to the participant teachers' discourse, knowledge about the local territory should be taught for reasons that vary between (1) the usage of local data for exemplifying phenomena whose study is required by the national curriculum and (2) the potential of that knowledge for promoting pupils' involvement in the socioeconomic dynamics of the local community. Accordingly, in the second stage, we have studied pupils' engagement with local communities from their own perspective. This paper highlights aspects of the Azorean pupils' discourse that can be related to issues of global citizenship. We interviewed 30 pupils in Azorean primary schools. The analysis of the interviews was organized around four main categories: pupils' overall representations of the village; their representations of other places; their perspectives on the extent to which the implemented curriculum conveys knowledge about the local territory; and their perspectives on their right to participate in decisions taken in the school and in the family. Disaggregation of those categories into 14 sub-categories has helped us sort out the most meaningful pieces of the children's discourse in terms of E5GGC, especially their statements on community problems and on ways of addressing them. All the interviewees valued their village and were able to identify some problems affecting it. In most cases the responsibility of finding solutions for those problems was assigned to the local authority. Their representations of other places, especially cities, tend to be based on the recognition of services frequently provided in them. They identified problems in those places only occasionally. Most of the pupils suggested that they were learning less in school about the local territory than what they would like to. They rarely acknowledged that the adults listen to them and take their positions into consideration when making decisions. While many interviewees complain about their exclusion from decision making, they also exclude themselves and other local actors from efforts to solve the identified problems. Hearing that the community's problems should be solved by "the president" suggests issues of citizenship that could be further explored in the schools we have visited.